Rebels keeping chins up

The roar from UNLV's players rang out toward the end of Wednesday's practice as wide receiver Phillip Payne made a one-handed catch over two defenders.

That practice followed Tuesday's energetic session, one of the season's best.

If the Rebels (1-4) are suffering emotionally after potentially devastating losses to Southern Utah and UNR, it wasn't evident at Rebel Park.

"No one's feeling sorry for themselves," linebacker Nate Carter said.

But maybe the practice field isn't the place to look.

The Rebels came out fired up this season at Washington State and UNR and were blown out. Their true test could come when adversity strikes, as it almost always does, even in victories.

Will UNLV, which opens Mountain West Conference play at Wyoming (3-2) at 11 a.m. PDT Saturday, battle or fold?

"I don't think we fold up," coach Bobby Hauck said. "I just think we aren't making plays when we need to, and we aren't executing well enough. That goes back to us as individuals maturing and us as coaches doing a better job."

Hauck said he was upset with the effort last season at Idaho and Brigham Young, both one-sided defeats, but said that hasn't been the issue with this team.

"This group, I think in terms of attitude, is markedly different than last year's group," Hauck said. "They've got a lot of fight. Now it's just playing better. We don't have to coach attitude because they've got the right attitude."

Gauging mental and emotional levels is tricky, especially when done by those not in team meetings and the locker room, and trying to see inside an athlete's brain or heart is impossible.

Mark Guadagnoli, the sports psychologist for the UNLV men's golf team, said it would be "irresponsible" to speak about what could be bothering a team without doing an in-person diagnosis.

"I can't be of much help because it depends so much on why they're struggling," Guadagnoli said.

The reasons for the Rebels' struggles are many, including a history of losing. The program has had only four winning seasons in 26 years.

This season has been especially trying. The Rebels are coming off a 41-16 loss Sept. 24 to Southern Utah, a Football Championship Subdivision school, and a 37-0 defeat Saturday at UNR.

UNLV ranks last or next-to-last in the Mountain West and in the bottom 10 nationally in many statistical categories.

But the Rebels said even when negative plays occurred and games began to slip away, effort wasn't an issue.

Tight end Austin Harrington said he and running back Bradley Randle regularly fire up the offensive huddle.

"I'm a senior, so I don't have time to be down," Harrington said. "When we were on the field last Saturday, I looked around at some of the guys and said, 'Hey, let's pep up, we're playing football right now.' Even though the score wasn't in our favor, I tried to get their energy up the best I could."

Carter, another senior, said he thought his teammates were energized at UNR.

"I didn't really see too many people pack it in," Carter said. "I kind of saw that earlier in the season. It's a sign of maturity that guys strap it back on and go out."

It's the seniors, Hauck said, who have helped the younger players remain focused. Three seniors -- defensive ends James Dunlap and Matt Kravetz and safety Quinton Pointer -- went on their own into the football offices at 7 a.m. Monday to watch video of Wyoming.

"(The seniors) are into it," Hauck said. "It's awesome to see. They've got numerous reasons to not be into it, but that's not the case. They're invested, it's their team, and they take that seriously."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.